Lady SoccerCats defeat Bearden

Tuesday

Oct 2, 2012 at 6:43 PMOct 2, 2012 at 6:45 PM

The Oak Ridge girls soccer team rose to the occasion thanks to the usual suspects Thursday against Bearden. Leading goal scorers Merritt Monger and Peyton McCollum both came away with goals against the Lady Bulldogs and the Oak Ridge backline was stellar as they avoided an 0-2 week with a 2-1 victory.

Robert Holder

The Oak Ridge girls soccer team rose to the occasion thanks to the usual suspects Thursday against Bearden. Leading goal scorers Merritt Monger and Peyton McCollum both came away with goals against the Lady Bulldogs and the Oak Ridge backline was stellar as they avoided an 0-2 week with a 2-1 victory.

The Lady SoccerCats (13-1-1) coming off their first loss of the season to Farragut last Tuesday showed strong determination and put the fight to Bearden early.

“Losing wasn’t an option, and we just made sure it wasn’t going to happen,” defender Taylor Hatmaker said.

Oak Ridge broke the scoreless tie in the 17th minute when McCollum found Monger in the center of the 18-yard box. Monger rushed the goalkeeper and banged it into the back of the net. Twenty minutes later, Peyton got her goal.

“We were on tonight,” Oak Ridge coach Tom Gorman said. “That was good to see. With only two goals, it’s hard to see how effective we were on the attack. We knew after Tuesday night there was a lot of disappointment, and I think we were maybe even questioning ourselves a little bit.”

Bearden, however, wouldn’t go silently. The Lady Bulldogs scored in the 56th minute as Brenna Day cleaned up an assist from Cassie Smith inside the box on a rush to pull within a goal.

“That was a huge momentum swing,” coach Gorman said. “If we get a third goal in the first five minutes of the second half, they probably shut down … but they hung around and got a goal.”

Hatmaker, part of the defense corps of Kaci Mitchell and backup Kendall Hull, who was in for an injured Savannah Davis — along with Oak Ridge keeper Jasmine Rizk — had their hands full with Bearden’s unconventional attack.

“They counter-attacked with more numbers than we had,” Hatmaker said. “Without Savannah playing, it hurt us. Jasmine is just so good. We just know each other and know how each other plays, so that helps.”

Added Gorman: “We dodged a bullet. The style of play Bearden has, they are going to press you up top very quickly so you have to be organized and be ready to be physical and win balls in the air. I really give Kendall Hull a lot of credit for stepping in on the outside. She did a great job tonight and that whole back line did a good job.”

Davis should return soon to the backfield. The Lady Wildcats travel to Karns at 5 p.m. today in the final District 3-AAA divisional match of the year; and they can earn home-field advantage throughout the tournament with a win.